The burgeoning $40 trillionnational debt is the greatest long-term threat to U.S. economic strength and national security. To put that number in perspective, that’s more than $113,000 for every man, woman, and child in this country. It far exceeds the United States’ entire GDP.

Both parties are to blame. Fiscal policies enacted by both Democrats and Republicans have led to soaring annual budget deficits. The federal government will spend more than $1 trillion on interest on the debt alone in 2026, making it a larger expenditure than Medicare and national defense, and second only to Social Security. That money does not secure our border, build a road, equip a servicemember, or provide a single benefit to a taxpayer. It is the high cost of Washington’s poor financial stewardship and reckless decision making.

Our reckless spending problem is immoral—it unfairly leaves our children and grandchildren to foot the bill—but it also introduces serious fragilities to our economic stability. As the debt grows, the United States further loses ability to maintain social safety nets, implement countercyclical fiscal stimulus during recessions, and would force severe austerity measures—raising taxes, cutting benefits—when it is to reach a boiling point. The debt also reduces the financial flexibility of both private borrowers and the U.S. government, leaving us highly vulnerable to an economic downturn.

Utahns understand the importance of living within our means, planning for the future, and making difficult choices before they become emergencies. I believe Washington needs that same discipline. We should root out waste, fraud, and abuse; make federal programs more efficient; and ensure taxpayers are getting value for the money they send to Washington. But discretionary spending cuts alone will not solve the problem. We also have to be willing to have an honest conversation about the long-term structural drivers of our debt, including entitlement programs, even if it’s politically fraught.

That is why I have supported creating a bipartisan fiscal commission to take a comprehensive look at the federal government’s finances and develop serious solutions. I’ve also pushed to fix our broken budgeting process, which is a root cause of our year-over-year deficit. Neither party created this problem alone, and neither party can solve it alone. Any durable solution will require members of both parties to put petty politics and distractions aside and acknowledge the scale of the challenge we have created.

I want the next generation of Utahns to inherit a country capable of investing in its future, defending itself, and responding to new challenges, not one whose choices are dictated by decades of accumulated debt.